GRACIE VS. KYLE AT STRIKEFORCE DEC 4

A light heavyweight bout that could have title implications has been added to the upcoming Strikeforce show on December 4 as grappling legend Roger Gracie gets back in action against American Kickboxing Academy fighter Mike Kyle.

The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight on Thursday, after original reports surfaced from GracieMag.com on Wednesday.

With only three fights to his MMA record, Roger Gracie could be considered a rookie by some standards, but the multi-time grappling champion is anything but new to the sport of mixed martial arts. Coming from the legendary Gracie family, Roger is the latest in the line of top fighters from the group, and he’s been focused more on his MMA career as of late.

Making his Strikeforce debut in May, Gracie submitted former UFC champion Kevin Randleman, but also showed off his rapidly improving stand-up skills along the way. He may have to brush up on those once again as he faces a dangerous striker come December.

Mike Kyle (17-7-1) is gunning for a shot at the Strikeforce light heavyweight title, and if Gracie is the fighter standing in his way, then he plans on remedying that in December. With a TKO win over current champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, Kyle has made no secret about his plans to duplicate that performance if he can get a second shot at the Brazilian.

To do that he’s going to have to deal with one of the premier grapplers in the sport today.

There’s been no official word about the bout from Strikeforce, or if the Gracie vs. Kyle match-up would make the Showtime broadcast that night.